Cougars Top Incarnate Word in First Road Midweek Game

Wednesday, March 4

San Antonio, Texas

5 PM

University of Houston

15-7

Incarnate Word

14-8

Houston

Incarnate Word

Photo by: ©Juan DeLeon Creative

Cougars Top Incarnate Word in First Road Midweek Game

3/4/2026 7:44:00 PM | Softball

Box Score

Houston earns 15th win, ground Cardinals for a third time this season

SAN ANTONIO, Texas – The University of Houston Softball team jumped back in the win column after defeating Incarnate Word, 7-4, on the road at HEB Field on Wednesday.

The Cougars (15-7) produced two three-run innings and homered twice on the day, courtesy of senior Mandy Esman's second of the season and junior Makenna Mitchell's eighth of the year.

Houston have now beaten Incarnate Word (14-8) for a third time this season, improving to 6-1 all-time against the Cardinals.

PLAYER HIGHLIGHTS

Mandy Esman: 2-4, HR, RBI, 2 R
Makenna Mitchell: 2-4, HR, RBI, R
Ronnie Esparza: 2-3, 2 RBI

NOTABLES

The Cougars are 3-0 against the Cardinals this season, winning one of each meeting at home (Feb. 15), on the road (March 4) and on a neutral field (Feb. 28).
The victory marks Houston's first ever road win over Incarnate Word, with all six previous meetings taking place in Houston or neutral site venues.
Esman secured her 22^nd career multi-hit game and second homer of the season with a solo shot in the fourth inning.
Senior Gabby Rawls tallied her first hit of the season with a single, pinch hitting in place of sophomore Isabel Cintron in the bottom of the seventh.
Sophomore pitcher Nevaeh Brown secured her second save of the season with both coming in the last five games (Feb. 27 vs St. Bonaventure).

Freshman Ronnie Esparza tallied two hits on the day, marking her second career multi-hit outing and first since opening weekend (Feb. 6 vs HCU).

KEY INNINGS
2^nd | Following back-to-back walks to place runners on first and second, senior Mandy Esman cracked a single on her first pitch, bringing sophomore Ariel Redmond home on the play and throwing error to level the score at 1-1. Freshman Ronnie Esparza followed up with a two-RBI single on her first pitch as well, scoring both Esman and sophomore Isabel Cintron to give Houston a 3-1 edge.

4^th | After helping create some offense in the second inning, Esman returned to bat for more as she belted a solo shot to left field, marking her second homer of the season to recapture the lead for the Cougars at 4-3. With the bases loaded later in the inning, sophomore Maddie Hartley lined a single past third, scoring two runs to extend Houston's advantage back to three runs at 6-3.

UP NEXT
Houston will begin its Big 12 Conference slate, hosting No. 2 Texas Tech in a three-game weekend series with game one set for 6 p.m., Friday at Cougar Softball Stadium. The teams the meet again at 3 p.m., Saturday, before a 1 p.m., Sunday, finale.

SUPPORT YOUR COOGS
Fans can make a direct impact on the success of Houston Softball by supporting LinkingCoogs – UH's very own NIL collective – and by joining the Diamond Club which provides financial support directly to Houston Softball for needs beyond its operating budget.

STAY CONNECTED
Fans can receive updates by following @UHCougarSB on X, formerly known as Twitter, and catch up with the latest news and notes on the team by clicking LIKE on the team's Facebook page at Houston Softball. Fans also can follow the team on Instagram at @UHCougarSB.

− UHCougars.com −